"For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10 KJV). The engagement period allows you the opportunity to look at one another more closely once you know you're getting married. It's a time for working on your friendship...

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock" (Matt. 7:24 KJV). In order to begin a marriage on a solid foundation, we must look at the beginning of the dating process. Each...

"Can two walk together, except they be agreed" (Amos 3:3 KJV)? When you decide, I like this person; I want to see what makes him tick, then you move on to the casual friendship. The distinguishing characteristics are as follows: 1) It is based on common interests,...

The home or family is the basic unit of all society. Strong families are important for the success of society and the success of the Church. When you have a society as we have now, that doesn't recognize the family, that society will eventually fall apart. And when...

Marriages without agape (the biblical term for love) will most likely end up in disaster. Couples should always be friends, but you can only build a home on agape. Agape takes time, work, and patience. (And, there is a much better chance of developing it before you...

Agape works best at the husband-and-wife level, then with children to almost the same degree, and then with others. Your children will never be as close to you as your mate. There is only one person whom you should see as the most valuable and precious person on...

If you've worked all your life and now you're being kicked out of the work force, go volunteer somewhere a couple of days a week. The beauty about volunteering is that you can set your own hours. If you want, you can sleep late and go in at one o'clock in the...

A large part of getting through the empty-nest syndrome is just learning how to let go and allow your children to stand on their own. That means coming to terms with your shifting roles as parents and realizing that if you've put in them what you were supposed to...

Agape is the God-kind of love. It sees people as being valuable and precious. The quality of this love is determined by the character of the one who loves, not the one who is being loved. That's why God can love us—because His love is determined by His character,...

James 4:4 outlines the basic commitment for a friendship. This is a good verse to memorize. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity to God, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James...

As the years pass by, not only will the children go, but the bills will too. (Your money adds up when you don't have to spend it on your children anymore.) This is especially true if you saved and exercised "delayed gratification" while you were young. In other...